


Bendy and the ink machine oneshots

by IamaliveIthink



Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Alternate Universes, F/F, F/M, M/M, Requests, ingame, pregame
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-02-08 19:27:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18629755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IamaliveIthink/pseuds/IamaliveIthink
Summary: Just a bunch of oneshots of the Bendy and the ink machine characters. Requests are welcome. Popular, unpopular or not even existing ship (yet), I want to do a lot.





	1. Curses and misunderstandings ~ Ink demon! Joey x Henry

Henry watched the ink demon, as the corrupted Alice Angel had called him before - how long had it been since she told him?- pass his hiding spot, limping through the room very slowly and looking around as if it was searching for someone. Of course, it was searching for _him_ after all.

He wondered if the monster would ever consider looking inside the small miracle station, but hopefully it wouldn't. The former animator wanted to live as long as possible, and being killed by this demonic version of his own character was definitely not the way he wanted to die. The man deeply regretted even coming back here. He just should have stayed home and do the usual boring routine his life had become. It was so much better to be bored than to almost get killed due to searchers jumping at him and a crazy angel trying to become 'perfect'.

The tall creature finally melted through another wall, but the man waited until the dark ink following this...thing was also nowhere to be seen anymore. He just didn't want to find out what would happen if he went out while it was still there. It couldn't be good, he just knew it. This time had been pretty close, it had almost seen him. If he hadn't hid in there the very moment he noticed it approaching he would have probably died. Henry could only hope he wouldn't run into the ink demon another time later.

From the beginning the ink demon had been hunting him, trying to grab him to probably hurt and slowly kill him. It was probably angry about him being here, disturbing its 'life' or whatever it called the hell down here, or just had a lust for other beings blood. It had attacked Sammy for no visible reason after all, and he had prayed to it.

Henry had seen the message on the walls, **The creator lied to us** , written with this black, thick ink. Was the creator supposed to be him or was it actually his old friend Joey? He didn't know, but he had no interest in finding out, he just wanted to help everyone down here and finally leave this awful place. Being here had already done very weird things to him, turning him thirty years younger, back to the age he had left this place when he had thought he'd never come back. It was strange and...scary. What was going on with him?

Henry finally felt safe enough to step out of the miracle station and left the room, walking down a long, dark hallway and turned left and right in the gigantic labyrinth, heading towards Joey's office, the man he still loved, even after all that had happened. It was stupid, he knew, but he couldn't just change who he was in love with.

His pal had been so adorable a long time ago and was such a cute dork sometimes. When they started the animation business Henry fell deeply in love with his best friend, but not wanting to ruin the friendship he tried to hide it as well as he could because he knew Joey was not gay. Even though there was no love between them they had gotten along so good. But success soon changed his secret loved one and turned him into a man who just desired attention from the public, money and power over his poor employees. It was actually quite sad to see his crush turning into some sort of monster who didn't care about anyone or anything else, not even for his best friend Henry who secretly loved him. It had really hurt Henry to see him like this, becoming a completely different person, and it was the main reason he left the company.

All these years, Henry had been wondering if Joey might have changed back to the person he had loved after he had finally left, but almost every single audio log the employees had recorded made his hope slowly fade away more and more. It had gotten even worse until the situation escalated into this inky hell. It left him wondering if he could have changed it if he had just stayed. Maybe him leaving made the situation escalate.

Where was the man he loved so much and cared about even after all these years? Seriously, where was he, while these things happened in here? He was responsible for everything in the studio, for every worker's fate, for Allison not remembering she and Tom had had a past life together, and yet he wasn't here to face any consequences of his terrible actions. Instead he had sent his old friend to deal with it by sending him this letter. Did he even care it was his responsibility? Henry doubted it. Why did he still love the man who had done so many bad things to his own workers? The former animator had not really an answer for this question. Feelings just couldn't logically be explained sometimes.

He stopped when he heard a sound and could make out it was one of the corrupted Butcher Gang members approaching, so he quickly rushed into Joey's office and closed the door. Had it seen him? Hopefully not or else he was going to have problems getting out again. Henry looked around the big room and his eyes widened in shock. The walls were covered with dozens of ink messages, you could basically not see anything of the true wall color. Most of the messages were either being **_I'm sorry, Help, Please_** or **_Forgive me_**. But there were one message that stuck out from the rest: **_I have become a monster_**.

Henry reached out his hand to touch the ink messages. They were all from Joey, it wasn't very hard to tell because of his hand writing, even though it looked like his hands were very shaky while he wrote them. The man only wondered, how had the his love survived the hell he had created himself? Had he even survived it? Was he maybe one of the inky creatures Henry had encountered before? They were the only once who had written on the walls with the ink, so it was very likely. If Joey was still a full human he would have wrote it on the paper on his office desk. Every employee had turned into a creature made of ink, so why not Joey as well?

But...Joey had also written he had become a monster. Did he mean the person he had become while he was working as everyone's boss or was it something entirely different? Had his best friend literally become a monster? He was pretty sure Joey wouldn't remember who he was as a searcher, lost one or Butcher Gang member, and the Boris clones also lost most of their identity.

A monster...

A demon...

The ink demon...

It made so much sense. Joey would always run after him to try to apologize back when he hadn't been craving for power and money and not being careless about everyone else. Back then he acted just like the ink demon did right now. Searching for him to apologise, when he did something wrong and regretted it, and trying to make it up to him.

He could still be wrong, the ink demon wasn't who he thought he was or Joey just wanted to kill him. But wasn't it worth to try and search for actual answers, even if there was a big chance he would die? Henry took a deep breath. There was only one way to find out if his theory was correct.

The former animator peeked out of the room, and to his relief the Butcher Gang member had left, whoever it had been. He slowly stepped down the corridor, looking for any danger that could suddenly come around the corner, but the little monsters weren't there anymore. He had almost reached the end of the labyrinth when he saw the ink demon crossing his path in front of him. It was time to finally find out the truth.

"Joey?" Henry asked quietly.

The ink demon turned its head in his direction and whimpered quietly. The smile on the creature's face was more forced than it had ever been, and he just felt so much pity for it. The demon then finally nodded as a reply and came closer, limping because of his twisted foot. Joey was approaching very slowly probably due to the fear that Henry might run away again. He set back his horns like cats or dogs would do.

"It's...been a long time, pal. I will be honest, I really missed you," Henry said and watched his friend come closer. Was he afraid of Joey? No, he wasn't for some reason. Some part of him just knew he would never hurt him.

Joey's grin was shaking. Another thing Henry hadn't noticed about the ink demon's appearance until now. His old pal carefully reached out his more human hand and then pulled him into a hug, pressing him against his chest as if Henry was nothing more than a plush. Henry was quite surprised at first, but then he hugged back, rubbing the demon's back and chuckling a little bit.

"I didn't expect you to mess up literally everything in the meantime, but I probably should have... you have always been so uncoordinated with everything and were at least a little crazy." His old partner whimpered again before starting to sob uncontrollably.

"Hey Joey, it's okay, I am here now... we will figure out a way to turn you guys back and get everyone out of here, I promise," Henry whispered, stroking Joey's head. "I am here to help." His friend purred quietly, which made him blush a little. Joey was so cute! He could hug his best friend forever!

But his friend suddenly released him from his embrace and walked to one of the ink puddles on the ground, while staring at him, probably to make sure he wouldn't just leave. Joey bent down and dipped his fingers into the ink before he started writing on the wall in front of him.

**_I'm sorry, Henry. I'm really sorry for everything that happened._ **

"I know, my friend, I know. I have seen your office. Your guilt is killing you, isn't it? Don't you know if there's anything we can do to turn everyone back into their original forms? There has to be a way!" he shouted and went closer to Joey, who whined. "Joey...? What...?"

**_There actually is a way to turn them back._ **

"Really? That's great! W-wait a second, 'them'? What about you?" He looked at his friend, feeling very worried. "You...you can't transform back?" The ink demon nodded, not looking at him. "Joey, I am so sorry for you..."

**_Don't be, I deserve this. It's the price I have to pay for doing all of these horrible things. There is so many stuff I did which I regret now. I was an idiot, Henry. If I could just go back..._ **

"You can't change the past, you can only do it better now. The guilt won't go away until you free them, and even after that it might not. But I will help you, Joey, I promise." He laid his hand on the ink demon's shoulder. The other one froze for a second and Henry realised it had been two decades since someone had done that the last time. His friend was shaking a little, then he wrote another sentence on the wall. **_I just don't want to be alone. But everyone fears me now. I understand why, I have become a monster. Both physically and mentally._**

"You aren't alone, Joey. Not anymore. I won't let you down another time," the former animator replied softly. "And you're not a monster. You may look like one, but you aren't. The person you're inside is anything but a monster. You realised you did horrible mistakes."

Joey looked at him, cocking his head. **_Why are you like this? Even after all I have done... what did I do to deserve you as a friend, Henry?_**

"You're my friend Joey. You'll always be. Remember what I always told you?" Henry asked.

For the first time Joey's grin wasn't shaking. He wasn't trying to make another facial expression.  **How could I forget it? 'It doesn't matter what you mess up, I will always set it right.' I always wanted to prove I could do it without messing up. I guess it was the reason I changed myself. I wanted you to love me.** Henry was very surprised. Not only had Joey loved him, he had also tried to change himself for him?

"You...changed because of me? You didn't have to, Joey. I already loved you, and I still do."

The ink demon stared at him for a few seconds before quickly scribbling on the wall, **_You love me? You only say that out of pity...you never loved me, and now nobody would love a monster like me_**.

A wide grin appeared on Henry's face. "You really think so?," he chuckled, leaned foreward and kissed the other one on his mouth. Joey squeaked in surpised and stumbled a few steps backwards. Hadn't he liked it?

 ** _But you're straight! You even had a girlfriend back then!_** , were the next words he wrote on the wall. Girlfriend? Henry had never had a relationship with anyone before, neither male nor female , so why did Joey think he had had one?

"Huh? Girlfriend? When did I ever have a girlfriend?" Henry asked stunned. "How did you get that idea?"

**_There was this girl you always had to visit in hospital, remember? You sometimes talked about her at work, saying you missed her and needed to go to her._ **

"Pfft, seriously? Joey, that was my sister Linda! You would know that if you'd have paid attention to what I was saying," Henry said, grinning in amusement.

 ** _Oh._** A simple word, but he just had to look at the ink demon who was hiding his face in shame to know how embarrassed his friend was. Henry could see why he was doing it, he'd probably do the same if he didn't listen to his love of his life only to get their sexuality wrong. Henry smiled at him.

"It's fine. Don't be embarrassed. You're just such a dork sometimes, but I guess that's the reason why I love you..."

**_I love you, too._ **

Joey pulled him into another hug, rubbing his face against Henry's chest. It was really adorable. A soft chuckle came out of Henry's mouth. "Come on now, we need to break this curse before the rest of them notices us and starts trying to kill me again."


	2. Stuck ~ Allison x Susie

"Uh...I am really really sorry, Susie, but... Joey doesn't think you're required as Alice Angel anymore. He doesn't think you're... well, good enough... for the role. I know this is hard to except, Susie... Again, I am really sorry, it wasn't my decision. If I was the one who had to choose you would be the one. I really hope this doesn't destroy our friendship...," Sammy stuttered.

Normally he was a short tempered man with a lack of patience who got annoyed easily, but being nervous had never been part of his personality. It easily showed what kind of situation he had gotten himself into. It was actually his own fault. That was at least what Susie Campbell thought about it. When you had just walked into the recording booth to find someone replacing you without getting notified it sure made you upset. At least Allison was gone again before she had walked in there to talk about it with Sammy. It wouldn't have been so good to 'make a scene' in front of that girl.

"Sammy, I saw how you looked at her!" Susie shouted, tears rolling down her cheeks. She felt so betrayed. How could someone like Allison Pendle suddenly be the voice actor of a character she had voiced for almost a decade? Joey had said Susie's voice sounded exactly like he wanted Alice's to be, angelic and full of enthusiasm. What had this girl what she didn't have? And how could this heartless man just suddenly replace her like that, without saying a word why. What was not good enough about her voice acting?

"What do you-"

She clenched her fists. How much did she want to slap her friend across his stupid, handsome face. "You know exactly what I mean, Sammy! Don't think you can just play dumb! I came into the recording booth, not knowing about anything, when you lied about me knowing that I was going to be replaced and was completely fine with it, and looked at her in admiration as if she was something you had never seen before. You really think she is better than me, don't you? How can you lie, Sammy? Don't you ever follow your conscience?"

"That's not true, Susie! Please, calm down! The way you act... This just... this isn't you..." Sammy placed a hand on her shoulder, but she shook it off immediately. Susie didn't want him to touch her or even let him near her. He was just a liar, just like Joey Drew. She should have known better than becoming his friend.

"I decide what's me and what's not myself, Mister Lawrence," she replied in a cold voice, glaring at him. "And if you excuse me, I'm going to visit my friend Wally now. He is a person with actual common sense who doesn't prefer another person over his longtime friend because she looks more attractive than I do." Susie spined around on her weel, slowly walking away from him.

She heard him calling after her, but she gave him the cold shoulder and walked down the hallway, not bothering to look back. If he really make it up to her he would run after her, but he didn't. He wasn't really sorry. Sammy could say whatever he wanted, he would fall on deaf ears and he probably knew it. She had seen what she had seen and heard what she had heard, and she wouldn't forget how easily he had told Allison that she knew about her taking her role and that she was completely fine with it. That liar! She had seen how he had smiled when Allison's eyes dilated in surprise and that happy look on her face appeared that made Susie want to punch her.

It wasn't actually Allison's fault for being a good voice actress, Joey and Sammy had set this up. They hadn't done it because Allison was better at the job, they just wanted to humiliate Susie. Perhaps Susie should just quit and leave. There might be another place hiring her... she did have talent, and many other places had offered her to work there...

No, what was she thinking? She might not be the voice of Alice Angel anymore, but she wouldn't just leave this place. Giving up just wasn't the right way to handle the situation, she would only give in and let Joey Drew get away with it. Also, the studio was her second home. She couldn't just leave her friends and family behind.

Susie sighed and almost bumped into the person she was looking for, Wally Franks, the lazy but nice janitor. Actually he was just as nice as everyone else around the staff while Joey decided to make the craziest decisions possible, but he had been particularly nice to her at the beginning. "Oh, there you are, Susie, I have been looking for ya. I heard ya shouting at Sammy. What happened?"

"Joey and Sammy decided to replace me with that... that new girl, Allison Pendle if I remember her name correctly. Now she's going to voice Alice and I... I will go back to voicing those characters that just appear in the cartoon to never come back again. I have such a deep connection with Alice, but Joey just likes to ruin it! I don't even know why he replaced me! There was no information about it, no reason why, and I just happened to walk in the moment Allison should start voicing Alice. It hurts so much to hear about being replaced like that... It's just not fair!"

"Ya know it's not Sammy's fault, right?" Wally asked. "Joey told him to replace ya with her. If he was the boss he'd have never made that decision..."

"Oh, so you want to protect him now?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow. "I really wouldn't have expected this from you."

"What? Of course not! He's mean to me all the time! I don't want to protect that meanie at all! I just don't think it was his fault Joey made that decision, so you really shouldn't blame him and stop being his friend. You're one of the people around him that stop him from screaming at me..." Wally replied.

Fast steps echoed through the hallway. Both Wally and Susie stopped talking and watched a beautiful woman with dark, silky hair walk around the corner and approach them. It was such nice hair. Why was Susie stuck with her ugly, red hair and those horrible freckles that made everyone judge her while Allison looked like a representation of the lovely angle herself? Even her name fit well! Allison... Alice... So similar! She had liked Allison and even imagined her as more as a friend. But now Allison got what was actually hers. It was her role, not Allison's!

Maybe Susie was a little jealous about Allison's looks, but before she had at least been the voice of Alice Angel. But now...she was nobody again. A part of her that had made her confident was missing now. She felt so...incomplete. Alice had always been a part of her. And now it was as if an aspect of her personality didn't exist anymore.

Allison Pendle smiled at them. "Good morning, Miss Campbell! Good morning, Wally! I have heard yelling, is everything alright?" Allison sure had a cute singing voice and she was always very calm, but it was way too deep for an angel's voice.

Allison looked at Susie. "I think I have seen you in the recording booth an hour ago. Weren't you crying? Are you alright?"

Wally shrugged. "As alright as it can be when someone wasn't told she was going to get replaced." He glanced at Susie. "Ya wanted to say something like this, right?"

"Wait, does that mean you didn't know about anything?!" Allison asked shocked, staring at Susie with her deep blue eyes. "That is just unfair! I will talk to Sammy and Joey. I'm truly sorry about that, I really didn't know-" Allison did her best to be nice and polite, but for Susie it felt like she was just trying to be a copy of her.

"You're wasting your breath, dear. I don't care what you want to say. All I care about is the fact that you took something I loved away from me. And that is reason enough to make your life worse, too," Susie interrupted her. Before Wally and Allison could react the other woman left, not looking back once.

"Welp, you're dead," Wally muttered. "It was nice to have known you, Allison."

 

"Why does she have to be so stubborn?" Allison asked Wally a few weeks later. "I didn't mean to take her role like that! If I had known she wasn't informed and hadn't ever agreed on it I would never..." Allison sighed, rubbing her temples. "Joey doesn't even let me give her the role back. He told me that I was the better one of us, and then he said I should deal with this 'small problem' on my own. What a jerk!"

Wally Franks doused his mob into the bucket in front of him. "Ya know, he's always been like that, even before you came here. It's a shame, actually. Sometimes I just wanna quit, but then again, this job is the only safe one right now..."

"Do you know what she did over the last few weeks?"

"No, but I'm sure you're gonna tell me," Wally replied, trying to swipe up the ink on the floor. All it did was make the floor dirtier and the ink covered the floor even more. Allison had already witnessed Sammy slip on it once, so she knew the ink could be quite dangerous. If you were Sammy.

"Susie tried almost everything to make my life a living hell. She secretly locked me in the recording room when I was the last one there to practice my singing voice, and that more than one time. Then she put pepper in my food and... Seriously, she should voice Bendy instead, she's full of mischief." Allison leaned against the wall, crossing her arms. "I don't want us to be enemies..."

"I don't want Sammy to be mean to me, too, but he still is," Wally replied.

"It's not like that... I...I don't think I just like her. I think... I might have a...a crush on her..." Allison whispered the last part. Even though Susie wasn't treating her very well she adored her and couldn't help thinking about her. It was stupid, Susie hated her. They would never be a couple. It was naive to dream about it.

Wally's pupils dilated and he stared at the woman. "You're what? Oh god, that's even worse. She hates ya because you got her role and..." He shook his head in disbelief. "And people say life at Joey Drew Studios isn't complicated!"

"I don't know how I can make it clear that I am not her enemy..."

"But I know how." Grinning, Wally opened the door to his supply room and pushed Allison inside, immediately locking the wooden door behind her. It was a small, dark room with shelves at each wall. She accidentally knocked one of the bottles over and its substance doused her shoes, making her feet become wet.

"Wally, what are you doing?!" she yelled and banged against the door. "Wally, answer me! Did Susie make you do this?!"

"Just wait and stay quiet, Allison." His voice was muffled.

"What do you mean?! Wally, I will kill you if you don't open the door instantly!" She tried to kick in the door, but the only thing that was happening was that the WORK HARD WORK HAPPY above the door fell down with a bang.

But the janitor didn't answer her. Oh, she'd kill him if he wasn't going to open the door soon.

She didn't know how many minutes passed. Four, maybe even five, it didn't matter. She sighed, frustrated, when suddenly she heard Wally approach the supply room again. And someone was with him. Allison was about to start shouting for him to get her out, but then she heard Susie talking.

"Alright Wally, why did you want me to come here?"

"Oh, I just want to...solve something," he replied. That was the moment Allison realized what his plan was. Wally, why? This will never actually work! Are you insane?!

"Solve... something? If this is about Allison I am not going to-"

The door of the supply room opened and before Allison could do anything Susie was pushed inside and fell on her chest. She couldn't see herself, but Allison knew she was blushing. Hopefully Susie couldn't see it. This was the worst way to try to solve their problem, and when she got out Wally Franks would be in deep trouble. "Have fun, girls!" the janitor laughed and rushed away from the door.

"Wally!" Susie shouted, pushing Allison away from her. "You can't just-"

"You can yell as long as you want, he isn't going to listen," Allison replied.

"How long have you even been in here?" Susie questioned her, narrowing her eyes.

"Long enough. And before you ask, no, I am not in here because I want to. Wally pushed me in here as well."

"I would be quite surprised if you would actually want to spend your break in the supply room. I think you are definitely capable of having a good taste," Susie replied, looking around the room. "Why is this sign lying on the ground? Did it fall down? Was that the cause of the loud bang that made Joey spill his coffee all over Sammy's trousers? It was actually very amusing. I even laughed. I can't remember the last time I laughed. It's a bit sad, to be honest..." The ginger woman stroked a Alice Angel plush on one of the shelves. Someone must have forgotten it in here. Maybe the toy maker, Shawn Flynn?

Allison decided to lie or else she was going to have to visit Mister Drew's office later. "Er... It was lying there the whole time. I... um... don't know what it was."

"Allison Pendle, you are a horrible liar," Susie giggled. "I didn't know you were that bad at it..."

The other woman sighed, "I know. Just don't tell them... I already had an argument with Joey yesterday and I don't think he would want me in his office again."

"I think I have enough time to decide if I do that. How long is Wally going to have us locked in here?"

"I have no idea," Allison replied. "But... I am surprised you haven't been mean to me yet. I thought you would have already killed me by now."

"Oh, you really thought I would..." Susie sighed. "I'm sorry. I know I have not been very nice to you over the last weeks..."

"That's an understatement," the black-haired woman said.

"Maybe it is. It's just... Alice has always meant so much to me. She has been a part of me for ages and now... you take that role as if it never meant anything that I was her. I always thought as long as I am her... I am actually important. I don't... I don't blame you. At least... not completely. It were Joey and Sammy who decided to replace me. I just don't know what I did... wrong." Susie gave a sudden sob. Tears started rolling down her cheeks. "Is it because of my looks? Why am I not good enough for the role anymore?"

"S-susie... you d-don't..." Allison stammered. She didn't know what she should do. Maybe it would help to hug her? Hugging her crush would be weird, but Susie definitely needed a hug. Allison gulped and slowly put her arms around the other woman. Shaking, Susie hugged her back and Allison could feel her tears wet her shirt. "I'm sorry. I wish Joey would let me give you the role back."

"You don't have to be. I know you are happy to voice Alice," Susie replied. "I'm just...selfish. An angel shouldn't be selfish."

"You're not selfish. It's your right to be angry and sad. I understand that... Hey, maybe... maybe we can both be Alice!" 

Susie stared at her, as if she was trying to process what the other one had said. "I don't think I understand what you mean..."

"We could both voice Alice! You do one episode and I do the other," Allison responded in an excited tone.

"I honestly don't think Joey would allow that..." Susie replied, frowning.

"Oh, he will. When both of his voice actresses quit I don't think he can't do much about it," Allison smirked. "We say we both leave if he doesn't split the role. Finding a new actress would take a long time and who knows if the public can wait so long?"

Susie slowly nodded, thinking about the option. "That really sounds reasonable. It could work, but only if we finally get out of-"

The door opened. Susie and Allison covered their eyes with their hands because of the sudden light. "I think that problem is already solved..." Allison muttered.

"Hey girls! How are ya doing?" Wally asked. "My plan worked, right?" The two women looked at him, both remaining silent for a couple of seconds. It was a really awkward moment.

"We are going to get revenge for this later, aren't we?" Susie questioned.

"Yes, we are."

"Good."

The janitor started sweating. "I-I don't think that's necessary... I helped ya..." But neither Susie nor Allison were looking at him.

"Um... Susie, would you maybe... go out with me?" Allison asked, blushing.

"As... friends?" Susie looked at her, cocking her head.

"No, as a date... but only if you want to!" Allison felt dumb saying it like that. She wasn't even sure if Susie even liked her a little bit. Just because they weren't rivals anymore it didn't mean-

"Sure! Just tell me where and when." Allison thought she was dreaming. Susie actually agreed? Was this a dream? This had to be a dream. "You don't have to tell me now. Oh, you can even do it better and surprise me. I love surprises!" Smiling like a little child that had just gotten candy, the ginger girl walked away. Allison had actually got a date with the most beautiful woman in the whole studio. It was just so incredible.

"See, my plan worked!" Wally shouted.

"We will still get our revenge on you, no matter if it worked or not."

"Dammit!"


	3. Transformation ~ Bertrum x Lacie

Bertrum Piedmont who considered himself the greatest architect and who was also founder of Bendy Land, and Lacie Benton, one of his employees, were truly workers most people didn't want to be around. The employees at Joey Drew Studios really didn't know how these two ended up working with each other, but they seemed to fit perfectly as employer and employee, maybe even more.

Bertrum Piedmont loved hearing himself talk and had a huge ego which ended up in him and Joey Drew having more arguments than all the other employees together. He sometimes started bragging about all of his great achievements or talking about what a horrible employer Mister Drew was, and that he would make sure the success of the amusement park wouldn't be his.

Lacie Benton was almost always in an awful mood, disliked so many of her coworkers at Joey Drew Studios that it seemed there was not even one person she liked, just thinking they were all a bunch of morons, and she wouldn't even consider not telling everyone her opinion about them straight into their faces. At least she was an honest person and didn't talk behind other people's backs like...others.

That these two actually were able to talk to each other normally without acting like total jerks and having the urge to make rude comments about each other surprised many people. Joey was quite surprised every day they hadn't killed each other yet. He was actually hoping that would happen, so he would get rid of Bertrum either by him getting killed or arrested for murder.

Some said these two might actually be or at least become a couple, including Susie, Wally and Sammy. Nobody really knew since when Sammy was being someone who shipped people though. Susie and Wally were both confident that both of them were hiding their true personality behind a huge ego (in Bertrum's case) and mean words (in Lacie's case). They couldn't be told otherwise, even though many of their coworkers tried to.

Susie was convinced Lacie was a genuinely nice person, but didn't know how to show it. After all she had to assert herself with all the men around, she was doing a man's job for god's sake. Wally on the other hand was sure Bertrum hid his self doubts and low self esteem behind his ego, but it was  only pretense. They didn't want to believe people were the way these two were. What a naive belief, wasn't it?

Lacie and Bertrum were neither stupid nor deaf, do they did notice what the other workers whispered about their relationship behind their backs. They had also heard others talk about their 'hidden' personality traits, and they found it quite amusing someone thought they were actually like that. But both of them didn't know what to think about the janitor and the voice actress shipping them together. It made them feel uncomfortable that people talked about them being a couple. How would they react if they knew it was true? They were just acquaintances in here. Maybe they were more at home, but work and private life had to be kept apart. Especially if Mister Drew was your boss. He would do anything to make Bertrum feel an unimportant, small person and always be condescending towards him. Joey might even fire Lacie if he found out just to demonstrate Bertrum his power over them.

 

Lacie glared at the Bendy animatronic on the work desk in front of her. It was freaking her out to see it there. Bertrum Piedmont said it was completely  harmless and not even functioning yet, but sometimes it felt like it was watching her, stalking her, and moving behind her back. It just looked so creepy, she wouldn't be surprised if she wasn't getting paranoid like other workers including Bertrum told her, and it actually moved on its own.

But she had work to do. Needed to repair a few of the rides for the test ride they offered a few workers. Joey Drew really didn't care if something bad happened, but she wasn't going to get into trouble if someone got hurt, he was the one saying it was safe enough. What a moron.

"That arrogant jerk! Who does he think he is?!" someone shouted behind her. The other workers shrieked and ran out, terrified of the outburst.

Lacie didn't need to turn around to know it was Bertrum. "What did he do this time?" she asked while repairing a small part of one of the rides that always malfunctioned.

"He called me _Bertie_ in front of _all of the investor!_  As if I was a _child_ , as if I was a  _nobody_ at all! That man is going down because of his horrible attitude some day! I am not just one of his employees, I am a famous and talented architect!" Bertrum yelled. She could imagine his head turning red in anger as he gasped for air.

"Why don't you just quit then, Bertrum? I'm sure he would've a lotta problems without us. Would be his problem, not ours. He's the one treating everyone like crap. It would give him a buncha problems. After all, we would take all the knowledge with us," she responded, turning around to face him. He was indeed very red in his face. It was certainly adorable to see him angry, but she would never admit that.

The man looked at her as if she was crazy before slowly shaking his head. "I can't just give up, Lacie! I am an architect and what would the world say after they found out the greatest amusement park was not finished by me? I would make a mockery of myself, just like he wants me to. I won't quit. I will make sure people will know that Mister Drew is nothing more than an idiotic weakling, thinking he can oppress me. He doesn't know who and what he is messing with. That man is just... crazy."

"Alright then. Have it your way. But I tell you, I have a very bad feeling about this," Lacie replied. "Don't get in too much trouble. Something's wrong with this place and it has to do with Mister Drew."

"You're just paranoid," Bertrum smiled, placing a quick kiss on her cheek when he was sure there was really nobody looking. "What could go wrong other than this jerk getting the credits for my work? And that is not going to happen. I am the one who controls this park! It's my masterpiece!"

 

The fateful incident happened less than two months after that conversation.

"Mister Piedmont? Miss Benton?" A brunette man who was wearing metal-rimmed glasses carrying some paperwork approached them, struggling to not lose any of the papers he was holding. Bertrum looked up from his desk and Lacie put the wrench she was holding back in her toolbox. People coming to talk to them always meant distractions and she could go home when they were finished.

"Yeah, that's us," Lacie replied, wondering what that man would want from them. Mister Drew had probably sent him to complain about their work without even seeing it himself. But why did he want to talk to her as well? She wasn't important and Mister Drew didn't even know her name as far as she knew. He had called her Linda once. Linda! She didn't know who that was, but she was sure their was no worker with that name.

The man hemmed. "I'm Grant Cohen, the accountant here. I'm really sorry for interrupting your work, but apparently Mister Drew wants to see you in his office."

"Does he want to make changes for the park again? I already told him it's too late for new changes!"

"I really don't know, Mister Piedmont. Mister Drew does not talk to me about his plans until he's nearly done with his preparations or does not tell me about it at all. He just wants to talk to both of you." The man didn't seem too fond of having to talk to them. Grant had probably heard about their behavior from others.

Bertrum Piedmont grumbled, "Can't he wait? We are almost finished with the park, and if he thinks he can just tell me to change everything now that it's nearly done-"

"He wanted you to assist him with another project of his. It's not another amusement park, I made sure of that, -we don't need to waste more money than we already do-, it actually has something to do with that machine up there," Grant interrupted the architect.

"Isn't that the GENT people's job? We're a group of architects, not repairman," Lacie said, narrowing her eyes.

The accountant shrugged. "If you want to tell him that go ahead and meet him in his office. I have my own work to do now. I at least have to try to fix his mess and make sure he doesn't wast more money. So many accrued taxes!" And just like that the man turned around and walked away.

 

They made their way to Joey's office, not sure what to expect. Did Mister Drew want to show them he could make Bertrum his puppet and let him work for the GENT company to humiliate him? Lacie could imagine something like that, after all it was Joey Drew they were talking about, one of the most uncaring and most awful people in the entire world, besides these guys from Germany.

Lacie was the one knocking on the door of Joey's office. She could feel other people stare at them and whisper behind their backs and she really didn't like that feeling of being watched and pointed at. A bunch of morons. Didn't they have anything else to do? Like, work?

But something was just... off. Her employer didn't seem to notice the bad vibes, he was too busy glaring at the door while waiting for Joey to open it. She doubted he even noticed the stares.

"If this bastard doesn't come here soon..." Bertrum murmured.

"Bertrum, he's havin' problems to walk properly. I know you hate him, but at least give him time to come out. Ugh, I don't feel good about this... it feels like something bad's gonna happen..."

"What could be bad? Joey Drew's ridiculous new plans? You are really starting to get afraid of everything, Lacie." 

The door opened and Mister Drew smiled at them. "Good morning, Lacie! Good morning, Bertie!"

Bertrum glared at Mister Drew, looking like he was about to murder the arrogant man. "It's afternoon, Mister Drew, not morning. And would you please stop calling me this mortifying name? Name calling should not exist at a workplace. You should call me Mister Piedmont, not Bertrum and especially not Bertie."

The man chuckled. "Oh, I am sorry, I always forget you don't like that. Most of the employees don't have any problems with me giving them nicknames. It lightens the mood. Don't you want to come in? I don't think you would want to talk in front of my office."

Lacie felt the tenseness in the air as she walked him, followed by her boyfriend, and she knew Bertrum would not put up with anything Joey said or did. But why would Joey get her into his office as well? She didn't know this man too well, had barely even seen him. What was his plan?

They stepped into the office and Joey sat down behind a big desk, motioning them to sit down on the two chairs in front of him. Lacie glanced at Bertrum who slowly did so, and sunk into the chair, crossing her arms and examining every movement of Joey Drew. Something felt wrong. Completely wrong. If she just knew what it was...

"Now, you sent this... accountant of yours to us and he said you wanted us to do something that had to do with the ink machine," Bertrum said, looking into Joey Drew's eyes as if he was seeking for any sign of weakness. The other seemed to do the same.

"Don't worry, Bertie, you don't need to do much for me. I just want you to participate at a... small experiment of mine," Mister Drew smirked.

"An... experiment? That's just ridiculous. I don't have time for such things, Mister Drew. I am-"

"A busy man, I know, I know. Don't you want something to drink? Some coffee maybe?" The owner of the studio didn't wait for their answers and started filling two cups with the hot drink before holding it out to them. Lacie and Bertrum both took the drinks, not sure what to think of that gesture. Why was he so nice? They had already said 'no' to his strange invitation. Did he want something else from them? Lacie took a few nips while Bertrum chugged it down within a few seconds. "Don't you at least want to know what kind of experiment it is?"

"Not... really," Lacie replied. "It's the GENT company's business if it has to do with that machine, isn't it? We have to finish the amusement park, Mister Drew. Honestly, that's one of the dumbest ideas I have ever-" Joey glared at her in a way that made her tremble, silencing her immediately. The next second he was back to smiling, had put his facade back on.

"I'm sorry, Lacie, I didn't think you would think about it that way," Mister Drew replied.

"But she is right, we will definitely not take part in... whatever you are doing," Bertrum said, putting the cup back on Mister Drew's desk, coughing a bit. He didn't seem like he had noticed what had happened. "I hope that is clear now. I am not doing something as ridiculous as-"

"Oh, Bertie," Joey Drew smiled. It was a creepy smile that made Lacie feel very uncomfortable. "Do you really think I am _asking_ for your permission? You two are my first test subjects now that I don't need you anymore. I mean, every idiot could finish your work!" He started laughing like a maniac.

"What do you-?" Bertrum tried to stand up from the chair, but he fell on the ground instead, falling unconscious almost immediately. But was it even unconsciousness?

"Bertrum!" Lacie screamed and jumped up, staring at the lifeless body.  This couldn't be happening... this just couldn't be happening... Bertrum was... "What the hell did you put in that coffee, Mister Drew?! Tell me!"

"Oh, you know, poison. Might kill him, might not. Who knows? It should work on you soon, too. If I put you two into the ink machine as the first souls to use... what do you think is going to happen?"

"Y-you are _insane_! What did we ever do to you?!" Lacie yelled, clenching her fists. Why was nobody coming? Was nobody hearing her? They should hear them, the walls were pretty thin in this studio. "Why are you doing this?!"

"Thank him for doubting me and my ideas! For being egotistical and not acting like he was supposed to! He is a horrible person to interact with and needs to be humiliated in a way he would have never thought it would happen. But you... you are way too close to him to not question his disappearance. His friend... maybe even his love... it doesn't really matter. I guess you have to share the same fate so you won't talk to anyone," Joey answered, an evil grin on his face. "Unfortunately you didn't seem like you have drunk enough poison, so..." He grabbed a sharp pen from his desk, holding it like a knife. "...this might get a little bloody."

Lacie grabbed the chair she had been sitting on and threw it at the man, but he ducked and the chair hit the wall behind him before crashing on the ground. "MURDERER!" For a man who had to use a wheelchair due to his illness soon, he was really fast. She tried to kick him, but he was better at avoiding the kick than she had thought.

The man chuckled. "You really are violent when threatened. You would be excellent as one of my cartoon characters... you know, Barley... if the ink machine doesn't mess anything up." And with that final words he stabbed Lacie in the chest. She could have prevented it if she would have been able to concentrate on his movements, but all she felt was anger and her eyes always fell on Bertrum's body.

Blood started to drain her shirt and the pain was worse than any pain she had ever had before. She hadn't expected a pen to be such a good weapon to stab people, and that was her mistake. He had stabbed her right in the lung, so the woman started coughing up lots of blood before her vision started to faint. The last thing she heard was his maniacally laughter.

 

"Another failure... I thought it would work this time..." His voice, the one of Joey Drew, was full of disappointment and anger. "Probably because you are not connected to those characters. I should have known! Maybe I should ask Susie to participate? She would make a perfect angel! But how do I get her to do that...?"

Lacie's body felt numb and cold. She opened her eyes, gasping for air. It was harder than she had thought. She was alive. She really wouldn't have expected that. Her chest wasn't hurting anymore. She didn't feel bad, but she didn't feel too good either. How much time had passed since she had been stabbed? What had Joey Drew done to her? Was Bertrum alright? What had he done to him? Where was he? And why was she sitting in a goddamn cage like some sort of animal or monster?

It was so dark around here. She was sitting in a small cage, not high enough to stand in, together with someone else. Something else. It looked like a thin ink figure with glowing golden eyes. It was terrifying to look at, but it was crying, so it was probably pretty harmless. "Why... am I here?" she asked herself quietly.

"Oh, you're finally awake. How pleasant~" Joey Drew was standing in front of the cage, a grin plastered on his face that made her shiver in fear.  It could never mean something good.

"What have you done...?" Lacie asked in a low voice, but it was still echoing through the room. "What have you done to me? And where's Bertrum?" The strange being which was sitting in the cage with her gave a sudden sob. She turned to look at it, but because it wasn't doing anything else she looked back at the creator. 

His voice was soft when he replied, "I put you in the ink machine, like I promised I would. The results... weren't as good as I had hoped. But I am getting closer to the perfect cartoons... the other question is honestly quite easy to answer."

Realizing what that meant for her the woman looked at her hands. The problem was it weren't actually hers. She quickly perceived that they were not covered in ink but completely made out of it and she didn't have to look at the rest of her body to know what it meant.

"You... you did... YOU BLOODY BASTARD!"

"Oh please, insults won't help you in this situation." He rolled his eyes. "You are horrifying to look at while you're screaming. You should stop it, it's not so good..."

"TURN ME BACK!" she screamed. "TURN ME BACK OR I'LL BREAK EVERY SINGLE OF YOUR WEAK BONES!"

"I don't know if that's possible, Lacie. It was never meant to be reversible. But in all honesty, I don't even care."

"Where... where is Bertrum?! He will kill-"

"Don't worry, he never left your side," Joey smiled creepily. "You throw a bigger tantrum than I'd expected. He did, too, at first. I am surprised it didn't wake you up."

Slowly realizing what this meant, Lacie turned to the ink creature. "B-bertrum...?" It nodded, turning its head away from her. 

Laughing hysterically, Joey Drew walked away from the cage. "Have fun~"

Lacie crawled to him, slowly putting her arms around him and pulling him into a hug. "D-don't cry..." She had never seen her boyfriend cry. She had actually thought he was incapable of doing so.

"I... I failed protecting you... if we weren't a couple... if we didn't know each other... it's my fault..." he whispered, staring on the ground.

"It isn't your fault, Bertrum! Don't say that!" Lacie shouted, shocked about her love's feelings. How could he blame himself for any of this? Even if they were not a couple, she would still have worked here. It wouldn't have changed anything.

Bertrum freed himself from her embrace, staring at her with sad, golden eyes. "But it is! It's because I never got along with Mister Drew! I was ignorantly thinking I was the one with all of the power. And now... I dragged you into this. Just because we are-"

He didn't see the slap coming. Bertrum yelped, but before he could say anything Lacie had a lot she wanted to tell him, "Stop blaming yourself, dumbass. It won't change anything to be sorry about it or wallow in self-pity." She sighed. " What happened happened. Can't change that. We need to find a way out of this cage, then we have to find a way to turn ourselves back. Everything will be fine." But deep down Lacie knew it wasn't going to be fine. This was just the beginning of a horrible nightmare, and it wouldn't end up well for anyone involved.

 


	4. Confession ~ Projectionist!Norman x Ink!Sammy

_My lord... he betrayed me... he abandoned me. What did I do wrong? What could I have possibly done wrong? Why would he ever try to kill me?_  The prophet thought as he wandered through the dark corridor, unintentionally following the sheep that kept on killing the souls that were merged with the ink.  _Why would my lord try to kill his loyal prophet? Why would he-?_

He noticed the little sheep coming out of a passageway only a few meters ahead of him, so he quickly hid in a dark corner to avoid getting seen, and watched the man passing by. The prophet was actually glad he couldn't breath for once, so he could not attract notice. It would have been less than appealing for him after the failed sacrifice. This man had an axe again, and the prophet was sure he would use it against him if he had the chance.

He just didn't understand why his lord would ever reject one of his offering. _Did I not pray enough? Am I simply not worth to be freed? Does my lord even care about me, his prophet? Is he only an animalistic creature with the urge to kill?_ These questions made him feel so much bitterness and anger. He had started worshipping the ink demon, hoping to finally be free from his prison. This inky dark abyss he had called a body for such a long time. For how long had he even been like this? He didn't know, could never possibly answer this question.

Something told him it hadn't always been like that, that he had been different once. Human, not a creature made of ink, not a terrifying monster. He remembered the first time he had encountered a human being which had screamed in fear and called him a monster. He had just wanted help, but the anger he had felt about being called a monster lead him to kill it. It only proved that he really was a monster, why act as if he wasn't?

Something inside of him had always felt like worshipping a cartoon character was just ridiculous, something an insane person would do. He wasn't insane, was he? He couldn't be, insane people would never question their sanity.

It was weird, but he was sure he had felt certain feelings towards someone, feelings that had never disappeared, but as far as he could tell he had never actually told the person he loved them, and now it was too late. The prophet really wanted to find out who that person had been, if they were still here and what they had become. He couldn't remember much about them, only that he had seen this person very often and them being quiet and hiding in dark places, but he hoped they had gotten out in time. They didn't deserve to be trapped in here, too.

When he was sure the sheep was gone, he walked out of the corner and headed towards the stairs. He didn't really know where he should go now, but he would figure out what might be a good place to stay in. That was when the prophet realized he could neither return to the music department where Bendy would definitely find him and not spare his life this time nor to the Lost Ones hideout. He had always told them to pray to the ink demon, that he was his prophet and that Bendy was going to save them all. This would either leave them with no hope due to their savior not caring about them or make them hate the prophet who was not who he told them he was after all. He just wouldn't be worthy in their eyes anymore.

He hadn't even realized he had gone downstairs and was standing right in front of the elevator until the Boris clone inside of it let out a terrified whimper, covering his eyes with his gloved hands. The clone really didn't like his presence, did he? Was the prophet that terrifying?

 **"You don't mind me coming inside and traveling to another level, do you?"** the prophet asked, but of course the clone didn't reply, so he just shrugged and stepped into the elevator. 

As soon as he was in there the doors closed and a furious female voice echoed through a speaker somewhere hidden above his head, **"Who do you think you are, you filthy creature, that I would allow you to use MY elevator?"** It started shaking violently, making him almost fall.

The prophet didn't reply to this, wondering who this woman could possibly be. Maybe the heartless angel the Lost Ones had told him about before. It made a lot of sense, this was her area. As far as he knew she was a cruel, ugly being and brought death to every Searcher, Swollen one, Lost One, Butcher Gang member and Boris clone she encountered for her twisted experience to regain her beauty. And she despised the ink demon more than anything else. The Lost Ones said she had encountered him before and it didn't end very well for her. But why did he knew that voice?

 **"Tell me, you wretched worm or I'll remove your insides! I'm not going to hesitate...** _It would really not be good for your health, dear and it would hurt a lot."_  He jumped as her voice changed into a different one. He was sure he knew this second voice even better than the first one... just what was her name? He just couldn't put his finger on it, but he was sure he had heard it before.  **"What is that mask you are wearing? A-a Bendy mask?! Are you the ink demon's prophet?! Get out of my elevator IMMEDIATELY!** _He can't touch me! You can't touch me!_ **Leave!"**  she screamed.

 **"No, I won't leave. I need to get to another level, angel, you will not stop me from doing that. And I am not his prophet anymore, I am a free person!"** He shouted. Saying that he realized it was true... he wasn't the prophet anymore, but... who was he then? He couldn't remember his real name, the title as the ink demon's prophet had been the only thing close to a name, an actual identity. If he wasn't the prophet who could he possibly be then? If he could only remember his human name... if only...

**"Free? Nobody is free down here, prophet. You should know the truth better than most of the other pathetic creatures down here.** _So what are you searching? What are you hoping to find?_ **And why should I ever let you use my elevator, you're just another disgusting ink creature!"**

**"Maybe... I can help you with something,"** he replied, glancing up to the speaker. The wolf next to him let out a terrified whimper, but he ignored it. It was just a Boris clone, as far as he knew they were always afraid. Afraid of him, afraid of Alice... simply afraid of everything. They probably remembered the most from their previous lives and Sammy envied them for it. His behavior still seemed somewhat familiar... it didn't really matter anymore.  **"Maybe I can do something for you."**

 **"...an errand? Yes, this would speed the whole process up. My little errand boy is almost finished, but** _you can still do one teeny tiny thing to help me,_ **and I will let you use the elevator just once. Did you understand that, worm?"** He nodded. **"...good."** Her voice was soft now, but he was pretty sure she only spoke like that to make him feel safer to trick him later on. He already knew what kind of creature she was.  **"I will let you travel down to level fourteen with the elevator and you will bring me the hearts of the Butcher Gang members lying around down there. It's an easy task."**

The fact that she had to say that already proved it wasn't, but he kept his mouth shut and just stood there in silence as the elevator rolled down.

 _"You know, you kind of remind me of a man I once knew, before everything changed. A liar, just like everyone else in here. He was handsome and talented, but he was never being honest. He was_ **just as bad as everyone else! I thought he might love me, but his kind of love was disgusting. SHAMEFUL!** _He actually told me about it when he rejected me._ _How can someone as admirable as him be in love with..."_  The angel didn't finish this last sentence and stayed quiet until the elevator arrived at level fourteen and the doors opened.

Boris let out another whimper.  **"Your stupid fear is getting on my nerves, stop that,"**  he growled in the wolf's direction.

 **"Go now, filthy prophet, and get me what I need. Don't return before you have all of the hearts. I only spare you if you do what I tell you to."**  She started laughing maniacally like she had just made a funny joke. If he had eyes he would have rolled them now and there. He really didn't like that false angel. She seemed to be quiet... complicated. And he didn't think he liked that kind of person.

He exited the elevator and glanced down a balcony to a gigantic room whose floor was covered in black, sticky ink. This was literally hell. At least he could teleport through the ink and do this really quick. But why did he feel like there was something down there? Something that could easily kill him... maybe he shouldn't travel through the ink before he accidentally appeared in front of whatever was down there.   **"What are you waiting for, you worthless prophet? I hope you know I won't wait the whole day for you to come back... after all, I am a very busy girl."** To his annoyance, she giggled at that. What a crazy, arrogant lady.

 **"Yes, I know, you stupid angel! I know that myself, no need to remind me about it..."** the nameless man muttered, picked up the heart a Striker clone was holding and slowly walked down the stairs, wishing he had a weapon to protect himself with. Strangely, the angel didn't reply to his comment. She probably didn't care about his opinion. He was just the tool she used after all.

It took him some effort to keep his form stable while walking through the ink flooded room. He had to concentrate on it the whole time or else the ink would claim him and bring him back to the whispering, screaming and begging voices before spitting him out of an ink puddle in the form of another Searcher or Lost One, maybe even a cartoon. All he wanted was to be freed and turned back into a human. But he also wanted to see his crush again, even though he couldn't remember much about them and knew they had probably found someone else if they had gotten out in time.

He stopped near a wooden box with a tape recording on top that made him curious. He remembered sometimes listening to the ones around the music department, but it had heard him and he stopped doing that. Maybe he should listen to this one? It felt important, although he didn't know why...

He pressed the play button and listened to the voice. A very familiar voice. His head hurt, and he let out a confused whimper. He didn't even listen to the recording anymore, he heard, saw and felt something entirely else. _N-norman...?_

 

_"Norman?" His voice sounded calm, even though he felt nervous approaching the projectionist. He had always had a strange feeling around him that he quickly identified as love. He recently told Susie about it after he rejected her due to not feeling the same before shyly explaining to her he didn't swing that way and already had fallen in love. He had a bad feeling about telling her afterwards, but he didn't know why. She was a friend. She would never tell anyone he wasn't into woman._

_He was really nervous and wanted to just turn around and go away, but he couldn't just blow his chance to confess now. There was nobody else here, this was his chance. Weird, stressful things had happened lately and this might be the best time to confess._

_Norman looked up from the projector he was repairing. "Oh, good morning, Sammy. I didn't know you would... be here this early. How... how can I help you? Is there another broken projector in the orchestra room?" the man asked. He didn't even smile at him, but sweated, probably due to all the work he had been doing._

_"Um, no, I..." Oh god, what should he say? He hadn't thought this through at all. "S-susie has a great singing voice, doesn't she?" What kind of topic was that?! He normally wasn't like this, so why now? He was Sammy Lawrence, the music director of Joey Drew Studios for gods sake! He wanted to slap himself for this stupid behavior._

_"Yes, she does, but I... um... I would prefer Allison over her, to be honest. Susie seems more like an amateur as a voice actress, even after all the years she has been voicing Alice Angel," Norman replied with a shrug, looking back at the projector, so his face wasn't visible anymore. "I've... uh... heard some rumors that Mister Drew wants to replace her with Allison... is that... is that true?"_ _Was there even a chance Norman liked him the way Sammy did? Sammy had heard him saying to the other musicians that he was weird after he had been in his secret sanctuary for another time._

_"Y-yes, Joey has considered it since he has heard Allison's singing voice the first time... but what I wanted to ask you was..." He hemmed and blushed a little, very uncomfortable with the situation, but still trying to say what he wanted to. "I...uh... would you... maybe...?"_

_"I'm sorry, Sammy, but I can't help you... I-I have to report to Mister Drew that I have repaired these projectors and that they c-can be used again now. Have a nice day." And with that, the projectionist left,_ _avoiding eye contact with the musician_ _He probably thought Sammy was weird._ _Sighing, the music director went back to his department._

 

 **"Norman..."** Sammy muttered, finally remembering the name of the love of his life. He probably would have blushed, thinking about him, if he was still a human being. Sadly, he wasn't anymore. It was all the ink machine's fault. Joey's fault. That bastard! He would kill him when he got ahold of him. He was the reason they were all monsters! He needed to get to Henry and help him out of this hell so he could kick Joey's ass.

These memories... they were so many of them... Susie confessed to him, he rejected her, he tried telling Norman about his feelings and failed miserably, Susie started dating Joey... it hurt! All these emotions were way too much for him! So many things that were obvious about Joey's behavior now, so many ink creatures he recognized.

He moaned in pain, remembering all of this, rubbed his head, and decided to start searching for these hearts the angel had wanted him to bring her, so he could distract himself from those painful memories, but there was a weird sound that came from behind him. It sounded like the buzzing of one of the projectors. He wheeled around, only to look at something he had never seen before. Even though the creature's body was completely made of ink, its head was replaced by a big projector and wires were attached to it. There was even a reel stuck in its shoulder.

It seemed to be looking at him in curiosity, silently absorbing every small movement he made. The light that came out of the projector blinded the music director, but he kept on staring at the creature. It seemed so oddly familiar... why?

It approached him, but it stopped only a few meters away from him when it saw him flinching from it. The creature actually seemed... sad about it. Did it know him? He wasn't sure if he had ever met the worker who was stuck as a ink creature with a projector stuck on its head. How did it even recognize him in the first place?

 **"Did we... know each other?"**  he asked quietly. The other ink creature slowly nodded. **"Were we close?"** It replied by shaking its head. He didn't know what to respond. Was it that lonely and afraid that it would just reach for any person that came there, no matter if they were friends or not? 

 **"I'm sorry, I thought you would hurt me... but you have to admit you look really intimidating,"**  Sammy muttered. **"And someone I trusted deeply tried to kill me before... I hoped they would free me... I was a bit insane at that time... heh, that recording somehow snapped me out of my insanity."**

It replied with a shrill screech that came out of its speaker, and the musician jumped at the sound of it. It cocked its projector head in amusement and he just knew it was laughing about him inside.

 **"Very funny,"** he huffed, **"very very funny."** A sigh escaped his lip, before he started chuckling a little. **"You remind me a bit of Norman. He enjoyed scaring others as well, and tried to scare me more than once. I found it rather amusing that he thought he could do that, I always knew when he was there."**  When the ink creature made a sound that he assumed was meant to be confused he added, **"Norman was the projectionist here. I don't know if you met him. Not many people understood him well because they thought he was a little intimidating. I wish we would have been closer."**

It pointed at the recording, and looked at him. **"Yes, that's his."**  It pointed at itself. **"Huh? I'm sorry, but what do you mean with that? Are you-?"** He was suddenly overcome by the realization what the other was trying to say, who they were. **"N- norman...?"** This couldn't be! This could never be true!

It nodded, looking at him in expectation. Sammy didn't know what to say or do. How could he even react to that? **"Who... who did this to you...?  No, let me guess, it was Joey, wasn't it? If I will meet that jerk ever again I will-!"**

He felt that Norman wrapped his arms around him and pulled him into a hug. _What is happening? Why is he hugging me? Is he trying to calm me down or is he-?_ **"I love you."** It was actually kinda funny how he could simply say that after not being able to do so the hundred other times he could have. Sammy didn't even intended to say that, it just happened. Did he regret saying it? No, but he wished he could have done it earlier. Before the studio became something similar to hell. Before everyone turned into ink creatures and went completely crazy.

The projectionist hugged him even more tightly than he already did, and a short screech came out of the speaker. **"Is that a 'I love you, too'?"** Sammy asked in a hopeful tone, and when the other one nodded, he was speechless for a moment. _He...loves me, too? He actually loves me?! I... how?_

A smile plastered on his face, and he kissed the projectionist on the projector. It was a little weird, but in a situation like this.... what wasn't?

 **"I really wish I would have said that earlier,"** he sighed. **"Oh, and by the way, I have seen Henry around here. Seems like Joey sent him back for whatever reason. Maybe we should go up and try to help him."**

 


	5. Crush ~ Thomas X Wally (request)

"Alright let's go over this again. If the pressure goes over forty five, I screw the safety bolt in tighter, right?" Wally asked, glancing at the other employee with an excited expression on his face.

The way he looked at Thomas reminded the GENT worker a lot of a little puppy that wanted to know from its owner if it was doing good. Or a little child that wanted approval from its father. He actually thought it was adorable sometimes, but right now it was just irritating. He had already been in a bad mood before he tried teaching the brunette about what to do in this type of situation, and the janitor's forgetfulness and childish behavior didn't make it any better. It was quite the opposite, in fact. But of course this idiot didn't notice. Or just choose to ignore it. Or maybe he liked to anger him?

How could he still not get it? Wally had looked at him during the whole explanation, nodding every now and then, and Thomas wasn't even sure if he had blinked once. How was he still unable to remember it? If you looked at someone, it meant you listened to them, didn't it?

"No! For the last time, you do that, you'll blow up every pipe in this place! If it reaches forty five, you unhook the safety switch," he replied in an annoyed tone, rubbing his temples. He started to understand why Sammy and other workers were not very happy with the janitor, his attitude at work and his behavior in general. Sure, most people liked him, but sometimes his happy attitude was a lot to handle if you had a day worse than usual. And for everyone working at Joey Drew Studios, the following day was normally worse than the one before it. The GENT worker normally didn't mind Wally's forgetfulness and childish behavior as much, but today he had to repair the same pipe thee times because some idiot thought it was funny to hit the pipe with a plumber every time he had repaired, and was yelled at by Joey because his creation wasn't perfect. How was that his fault at all? The ink machine was only a tool, and mister Drew wanted to combine it with satanic rituals and magic.

How on earth could one person be so goddamn forgetful? How did this man survive so long, if you could even call Wally a man? No wonder he hadn't finished school and could be nothing more than a janitor! His idiocy was just too much for Thomas to handle. It irritated him and many others. 

"You sure? You know, it sounds harder than comparing ear wax with bee's wax!" Wally replied with a frown, staring at the machine in front of him.

"Look, it's not that difficult! Just keep an eye on the gauge!" Thomas grumbled, turning in a different direction to walk away and complain to Joey about how incompetent the young man was. But knowing the client, he would refuse to do anything about it. The janitor 'lightened the mood of the other employees around the studio' and 'brought a lot of inspiration to the characters of Boris, Bendy and the Butcher Gang due to his unique personality'. He would never understand what was going on in Drew's mind. But he wasn't an animator or artist, so why bother? Thomas was just a worker of the GENT company. He didn't have  to understand the client, just to go with it. Even if he didn't want to, and hated the client's guts.

Also, getting Wally fired was definitely not his intention... he didn't understand it himself, but he didn't want him to be gone and he knew it would be hard for him to find a new job. He was annoying sometimes, but Wally's happy attitude was the only thing that always stayed the same at this studio. One of the only positive things in this goddamn place. Sometimes he felt relaxed because of this special attitude. Calm and relaxed. He didn't even feel that at home! But not this day.

"Look pal, if you think I'm doing my job and  yours, I'm outta here!" Wally shouted, crossing his arms. Thomas wouldn't be surprised if he stamped his foot and started pouting similar to a toddler, and he felt a grin appear on his face. He quickly forced himself to make a serious expression again. He shouldn't be smiling at something like that. Maybe it was because the janitor looked a few years younger than he actually was, and sounded younger, too, but that didn't excuse it. His voice would probably fit perfectly for a cartoon character, possibly Bendy. But hey, what did he know about animation and voice acting?

Thomas rolled his eyes and muttered, "As if it would ever come to that. You and me both know you can't even remember one single instruction I tell you to follow." He grabbed his GENT pipe from a wooden box he had put it on, and started walking away.

"W-wait! E-explain it one more time, please? I promise I will understand it this time! I promise!" Wally stuttered a little. It made the GENT employee suspicious and... sad. What was Wally afraid of? Getting fired for not remembering how to get the pressure back down? Joey wouldn't fire him for that. He needed any help he got. Was something wrong? Thomas had the sudden urge to hug the janitor. To calm him down. He resisted it and felt that his face was heating up. What was wrong with him? He took a deep breath and felt better almost immediately. Maybe he was getting sick...

He turned back around and examined the nervous expression on the other man's face. "No. I have already told you at least a dozen times how to do it, and I'm tired of doing it over and over again just because you are an ignorant idiot. I have other duties to take care of than just that."

Thomas heard Wally mutter something under his breath, but was too confused to actually care. That guy could think about him whatever he wanted, he didn't care. He was just glad when he was finally away from the impersonation of stupidity for a while. It had made him feel so... weird. Just how could Joey Drew think it was a good idea to train him? What was his plan?

He desperately needed to talk to Allison and have a nice conversation with her. Everyone around this studio was driving him crazy, everyone in a different way, but at least there was one person who he could talk to who wasn't as annoying as the rest.

Shaking his head, he made his way down the stairs, and grimaced as he watched the elevator go down with one worker inside. It just wasn't safe to use and he could only pity the poor soul who would use it when it finally malfunctioned and crashed down to the lowest level. But it would not be his fault. Joey was the one who cut corners, and he told everyone not to use the elevator.

"Mister Connor? Mister Connor!" He whirled around and stared at the person who had called him from up the stairs. It was a ginger woman with a nervous expression on her young face. Others would probably call her 'beautiful' and 'cute', but Thomas didn't get why they thought that. Appearance was superficial. Besides, he didn't think woman looked that good.

It took a moment for him to recognize her, but when he did, he frowned. Why was she still here? How could she still be here?

"You're... Susie Campbell, right? The voice actress who voiced Alice before? Hasn't Joey fired you a while ago?" he asked, leaning against the wall on his right.

He was probably needed somewhere, but Joey would have to deal with it for a while. Whatever Miss Campbell had to say, he was curious. Especially because he had the feeling Allison would have big problems with her soon enough. Something about this woman just didn't feel right... He felt like she had the potential to be a sociopath. Woman weren't perfect individuals like everybody thought they were. She acted so naive... was it all just an act?

Susie smiled awkwardly, a faint blush on her cheeks. He could see why she didn't like the topic. It surprised him, when she answered and didn't change the topic. "Y-yeah, but then he rehired me... again...? Didn't you hear it from Allison? I thought you two were so close friends... A-anyway, it was a big surprise for me, when Joey told me I could still be part of the show, just in a different way than I was before. He told me I could still be Alice, but... in a different way. She would be the voice of Alice, but she could never replace me... a-and I'd... I'd get to be her. It's not the same as voice acting, of course, but still-" She stopped and looked at him, shaking her head. "B-but that's not what I wanted to talk about with you... I'm sorry, I'm just so happy! "

Thomas narrowed his eyes, but stayed quiet. Be  Alice Angel? That annoying cartoon character? He thought about how he told Joey the ink machine lacked souls to create real cartoons... Could it be that he...? No, he wouldn't. That would be absolutely crazy. Mister Drew had probably offered her to dress up like Alice at that Bendy Land theme park he was working on. Yes, that had to be it. He was desperate and an idiot, but not insane.

"What do you want to talk about then? I don't have all day, Miss Campbell. Mister Drew won't be pleased if I don't do my job," he replied. "Someone's always complain about machines not working the way they should. Especially when it's about the ink machine."

"Oh, I know. Don't worry, it won't take too long. I just wanted to ask if you have noticed anything about Wally acting weird lately and if you know if he has shown interest in-"

Thomas looked at her in surprise. "Weird? What do you mean by that? And why do you ask me out of all people? Doesn't he have friends?"

Susie sighed. "I thought you might have noticed something... Oh well, explaining won't hurt." Another sigh. "For the last week Wally has been... daydreaming more than usual. And not his usual daydreaming. Every time I see him while cleaning the music department, he suddenly stops and then sighs loudly, staring up with a dreamy look on his face, before going back to his work. In the middle of a conversation with any person, no matter if it's Joey, Sammy, me or anyone else, he will close his eyes for a few seconds and start smiling. He has never acted like this before! I have no idea how I am the only person who notices this!" She bit her lip. "I... I think he might have a crush on someone. That's the only way I can explain his behavior."

"And? Even if he is, it isn't your problem if he isn't doing his job well. Why does it bother you so much?" Thomas asked, crossing his arms. He felt anger rising in him. She couldn't just interfere in somebody's affairs like that. Especially not Wally's! It shouldn't be important to her. And why did that woman tell him about it in the first place? He wasn't even friends with Wally. Why should he care?

"Wally is a good friend of mine. I want to help him as good as I can. I really want to know who he likes. But I'm pretty sure he wouldn't tell me. After all, he would probably rather tell another man because they have more knowledge." Thomas snorted at that. "And what if he has a crush on me? That would make it even harder."

That woman was getting on his nerves. She actually thought Wally could be in love with her? He really didn't think she was his type, and even if she was, there was something dark hiding behind the innocent facade she put on. Susie seemed to have no flaws. She seemed to be perfect, and that just wasn't natural. There was probably something wrong with her, she just hadn't showed it yet.

"You are teaching him how to work with the pipes. The rest of the day he cleans every part of the studio, and people barely look at him. So I thought... maybe you could observe him for me," she said quietly. He hadn't even noticed that she had gotten much closer. It made him feel uncomfortable. Like she expected him to act like a gentleman just because she was a woman. He just didn't understand what was so special about them to be treated better.

"I don't do favors for anyone I don't know well enough," he replied, and turned around. "And I don't want to get involved in other workers' love life. That's just... not professional." Shaking his head, he made his way downstairs. 

 

Thomas had tried his best to forget about the conversation he had with Susie Campbell, but despite all of his efforts to distract himself he just couldn't stop thinking about it. Wally had a crush on someone? The goofy janitor who usually acted more like a child than a man? He had previously considered other employees might have crushes on him instead and that he was completely oblivious to it. The thought had annoyed him more than it should. Wally was just a person many people would fall in love with. The janitor had a very optimistic attitude, tried his best to be as funny as possible and was over all pretty cute... no, wait, guys couldn't be cute. Women were, apparently, but not a guy.

He just didn't understand why he felt this... curiosity. Why he wanted to know who Wally's crush was, despite them not even being friends. He normally wasn't like that. He didn't know why it bothered him. Why he didn't like the thought of the janitor having a crush on someone. It wasn't his business.

Sure, Wally had a fascinating personality and looked very adorable -no, not adorable! Why did he keep thinking that?!- , but why did he even bother? Wally's relationships weren't relevant to him. They were just coworkers, nothing more and nothing less.

With a sigh, the GENT worker sat down at a table in the lunch room, and waited for Allison. He just desperately needed to talk to her. She was a good listener and normally knew what to do, no matter what problem he had. It always calmed him down to talk to her. So he waited for her to come.

One minute passed. Two minutes. Then three. He grabbed one of the books on the table and started flipping through it out of boredom. After eleven minutes of waiting, Thomas let out an annoyed sigh and stood up. He would go and search for her. What could possibly take her so long?

The door opened and he heard someone coming downstairs. The person was whistling one of the songs that had been written previously. Hoping it was Allison, he raised his head, but it was just Wally. He was carrying a mop and a bucket filled with water. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he noticed Thomas and froze. The janitor smiled goofily, like always when he was nervous.

"Hello, Thomas. I, uh... I'm surprised you're still here... I thought you would be gone by now..." Wally laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head.

"This is the lunch room, Wally. I can go here whenever I want to eat," he replied with an eye roll. "I thought you knew that..."

"Yeah, but... most people have left to go back home some time ago. It's already ten pm... and... you're usually gone earlier as well... a-are you alright? You look kinda... I don't know... you zoned out..."

Thomas eyes widened. He hadn't even realized what time it was. How could he? He hadn't looked at any of the clocks that were hanging all around the studio for a very long time. But how had he not noticed how late it was? "I guess I forgot the time... heh, that has never happened to me before. I was very busy today and didn't look at any clocks..." He sighed. "That's just idiotic..."

The janitor gave him a wide grin. It made his heart beat faster. He really was getting sick, wasn't he? "Oh, I know how that feels like. It happens to everyone, don't worry. You're not an idiot, everyone forgets the time every now and then. You better get goin' now before Joey sees ya and gives ya more tasks." He felt relieved at that. Wally didn't think he was an idiot for that... why did he care anyway? Since when did he care about other people's opinions?

Thomas nodded, trying to get these thoughts out of his head. "I guess you're right." He made his way up the stairs and out of the studio.

 

"-and I have no idea why I even bother," Thomas finished. He and Allison were sitting at a small table in the lunch room. They had locked the door so nobody could come in and just interrupt. As long as that idiotic bastard called Joey or Sammy didn't  find them, they were safe. He glanced up at Allison who was trying to hide her grin behind her hand. "What? What's so funny?"

"Tom, you... you're jealous!" She replied, giggling, and leaned back in her chair. "This is just so hilarious..."

"W-what? Jealous? Why would I be jealous?" He asked with a frown. "Wally doesn't even have anything I don't-"

"Oh my god, Tom, you aren't jealous of  him! You are jealous of others because you have developed a crush on him! How could you not realize that? Have you ever, ever  had a crush before?"

He stared at her, not sure if she was joking or not. "I don't have a crush on him... that's not-"

"You think cute things about him, Tom. You call him adorable and cute in your own mind, and it normally calms you down if he's near. You even wanted to hug him, for God's sake! These are obvious signs. The only thing missing is the imagination of you two kissing, but I'm pretty sure that will-"

"T-that doesn't mean anything!" Thomas growled, blushing in embarrassment. "I am probably getting sick or something! God, I regret telling you about it..."

"Sick? Seriously, Tom? You are lovesick if you ask me..."

"Stop joking around, Al!" He shouted, glaring at her.

"I'm not joking. At least I'm trying not to...," she replied with a sigh. "I'm sorry, I just didn't think you were capable of... you know, falling in love. You just don't act like a person who would want anything to do with relationships... but Tom, you have to accept the fact that you love him. It's not healthy to bury your feelings. Deep down you'll know why you feel this way."

Thomas buried his face in his hands in an attempt to hide his blush. He knew she was right. He just hadn't wanted to admit it... Even now he didn't like the thought of him loving someone. He had thought he was strong. Independent from these feelings, in a way. Only to realize he wasn't. "He probably doesn't like me anyway... He already has a crush on someone else."

"You never know what will happen," Allison responded softly, putting arm on Thomas shoulder. "Love is a complicated thing. You either win or lose. But if you don't take the first step you might regret it later." She noticed her friend's questioning look and sighed. "Don't look at me like that, I read it in a novel. These are not my words. You can blame literature."

 

He found the janitor in an empty corridor right next to a closet filled with broken projectors. Wally was mopping the floor, whistling one of the newer songs with a smile on his face. When he noticed the GENT worker standing there hopelessly, he frowned and stopped his work. "Thomas...? Shouldn't you be installin' new pipes or something like that?"

"I... uh... don't? At least not right now. I wanted to tell you something."

Wally glanced around the room before looking back at him. "Me? I... why? I don't... d-did I do something wrong? Am I being fired by Joey and you are the one who has to tell me? Is Sammy mad at me?! Did he find my keys again?!" His eyes widened in fear.

"What? No! I just realized something not so long ago and I..." He took a deep breath and felt that his face was heating up again. Alright Thomas, you can do this... you can do this... "I-Iaminlovewithyou!" He blurted out.

Wally froze and stared at him. He stared back, waiting, no, begging for a reaction. It felt like an eternity in which they stared at each other in silence. Then, suddenly, the janitor gave a sudden sob. Tears started to roll down his cheeks.

"W-wait, no! Don't cry, I..." What was he supposed to do?! Why was Wally crying?! Had he done something wrong?! This had been such a horrible mistake! He shouldn't have listened to Allison... he had made his crush cry... this wasn't what he had intended! Thomas felt guilty. He felt the urge to hug him and rub his back, but judging by his reaction to his confession he should probably leave... "I didn't mean to... don't be sad..."

"I...I am not sad." Wally's voice was not more than a whisper at the start, almost impossible to hear. He looked at Thomas and... smiled? "I-I love you, too, Thomas! This is..."

The next thing Thomas knew was that soft lips were pressed on his. His eyes widened and he stared at the janitor, who had closed his eyes. He... loved him? He was Wally's crush? That couldn't be real... it had to be a dream... but it was real. The way Wally kissed him, and... What... what was he supposed to do now? Where did he have to put his hands? Should he put them on Wally's neck...? His back...?

To his disappointment, Wally's lips disappeared from his. The janitor leaned back and chuckled, a blush on his cute adorable face. "You don't know how long I wanted to do this. You have no idea how to kiss, do ya? You don't know what to do with your hands and all."

Thomas stayed silent, embarrassed that Wally Franks had noticed it. 

"Don't worry, Tommy, I will teach ya. We have enough time for you to learn," he grinned.


End file.
